Nearly four years ago, I moved from a populated little valley on the island of Oahu to the sprawling expanse of Miami, Fl, the location of my birth and hellraising. With the exception being a brief stint in St. Augustine, Miami is the only other place I called home.

How or why could anyone move from a Pacific Paradise to the sprawling, heavily crowded metropolis that is South Florida? Well, if I had a dollar each time I was asked that I would probably be able to move back and into a nice house on the beach, but there are very specific reasons but time nor effort merits a detailed explanation at this moment. Though valid reasons were safely kept in my back pocket, a continual apprehension for doing just that – moving away from Hawaii – stalked me as a shadow in the hot summer sun.

To combat these feelings, I found myself diving head-first  into endeavors such as long-distance triathlons and bicycle races, becoming an instructor for Outward Bound, roaming around ribs deep in the Big Cypress Swamp, and even achieving the  honorable status as a full-fledged member of the Titanic Brewery Mug club.

Yet through most of these experiences, the difference between Hawaii and Miami was the notable absence of a camera around my neck. It was not until early this year that I regained my passion for photography and thus visually examining the wonders of our everyday existence. For much of the past four years I have somewhat reeled at the state of journalism, more specifically photojournalism in newspaper print. As an unwavering goal in Hawaii, all I wanted was a full-time staff position right out of college. Life, society, economics and a few other factors, however, had something to say about it and I spent time away from the craft I so intensely studied and became engulfed in.

But if the world is truly round and where you go is where you are, it seems that my hiatus behind the lens only coiled my spring under tension over time. Now, amongst some wonderful people and fairly large and significant changes in my life, that spring is ready to release into a progression rooted in documenting and branching out into visual expression.

Starting tomorrow, I find myself behind the wheel driving from Miami to Seattle, my new home. If my route is a reflection of my interests and available time, it is not exact in detail nor haste but not a freely roaming path either. Over this time I intend to diligently upkeep a log of the journey, complete with what I see cameras in hand.

And so I begin the voyage from one corner of this nation to the next.